Examples of Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Records
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
Examples of Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Records 1. Metadata Application Scenario Example 1:
Bridges of Wisconsin Digital Image Collection
A) Functional Requirements:
The metadata scheme and retrieval system must allow users to:
 Search and browse by:
o Name of Bridge (fielded search and alphabetical title browse)
o Date of Bridge Construction (search limit by single year or range of years)
o Architect for Firm (fielded search and alphabetical name browse)
o Type of Bridge (fielded search, drop-down term browse, and alphabetical term browse)
o Wisconsin County Name (fielded search, drop-down term browse, and alphabetical name browse)

Identify image content by the elements above, and also by:
o Bridge Dimensions
o Photographer name
o Date of Photograph
o Original Photograph Size
o Original Photograph Medium
o Original Photograph ID Number
o Original Photograph Collection name
o Original Photograph Repository name
o Digital Collection name
o Digital Image Copyright
o Digital Image Publisher name
o Digital File Format
In addition all records must contain a Type of Resource element for cross-collection search limits
All records must also contain the following administrative information, which will be suppressed from public display and OAI harvesting:
 Digital File Number
 Date Digitized
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Page 1 of 21 Examples of Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Records
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
B) Metadata Application Profile (MAP):
Element Name
Mapped to
Dublin Core
Obligation
Title/Name of Bridge
Title
Required
Date of Construction
Date Created
Required if
Available
Architect or Firm
Creator
Type of Bridge
Subject
Required if
Available
Required
Bridge Dimensions
Format Extent
County
Coverage
Spatial
Type
Creator
Resource Type
Photographer
Required if
Available
Required
Required
Required if
Available
Date of Photograph
Date Created
Required if
Available
Original Photograph
Size
Original Photograph
Medium
Original Photograph
ID Number
Original Photograph
Collection
Format Extent
Required if
Available
Required if
Available
Required
Format Medium
Identifier
Relation
IsPartOf
Required
Vocabulary/
Encoding
Scheme
Input Guidelines
Examples
Construct a title giving the name of the bridge first, when
known, followed by the county, and the state. If the name of
the bridge is not known, give the type of bridge in its place,
followed by county and state.

W3CDTF
when
applicable
Give a certain date or date range whenever possible, including
month and day if known. For uncertain but probable dates,
add a question mark. Give the decade as in the example if
known to be in that decade but exact year is unknown.





LCTGM
Terms must be taken from the Library of Congress Thesaurus
for Graphic Materials.




Local
authority file
DCMIType
LCNAF when
applicable
W3CDTF
when
applicable
Include whatever dimensions are available from a reliable
source
Use the local list of Wisconsin county names.
Use Still Image for all items in this collection
Use the form of name established in the LC Name Authority
File when present. When not, follow the format of giving last
name, first name, and add middle name or initial, date of birth
and/or date of death, if known, as illustrated in the examples.
Follow the same guidelines as for Date of Construction. The
examples here illustrate additional possible variants.
Give the dimensions of a slide in millimeters and of a
photoprint in inches
Sate whether a slide or a photoprint and optionally add black
& white or color.
Give the Hagenville University Archives ID number for
individual photograph
Give the name of the collection as established within the
Hagenville University Archives



















Original Photograph
Contributor
Required
Copyright © Steven J. Miller. All Rights Reserved
All images in this online collection reside in the “Hagenville

Manchester Street
Bridge, Sauk County,
Wisconsin
Covered bridge, Door
County, Wisconsin
1896
1896?
1890s
1909-1911
Lassig Bridge and Iron
Works
Truss bridges
Covered bridges
Railroad bridges
128.9 ft. long; 13.7 ft.
deck width
Sauk County
Dane County
Still Image
Bennett, H. H. (Henry
Hamilton), 1843-1908
Novak, Katarina, 1956Kramer, Paul Jacob
1955
1955-07
1955-07-23
1950s?
35 mm
9.5 x 7.25 in.
Black & white slide
Color photograph
171, 33b-765
KNSC-225907
Paul J. Kramer Archival
Photograph Collection
The Katarina Novak
Slide Collection
Hagenville University
Page 2 of 21 Examples of Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Records
Repository
Digital Collection
Digital Image
Copyright
Digital Image
Publisher
Digital File Format
Digital File Number
Date Digitized
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
University Archives.”
Use “Bridges of Wisconsin,” as in the example.
Relation
IsPartOf
Rights
Required
Publisher
Required
Format
Required
IMT
Identifier
Date Created
Required
Required
W3CDTF
Required
Always give the copyright information exactly as in the
example.
Always give the name of the university exactly as in the
example.
Terms must be taken from the IMT scheme and follow the
format shown in the examples. Most of the images in this
collection are jpeg, but a few are gif.
Give the Hagenville digital file number
Give the full date of digitization, including month and day,
following the W3CDTF scheme, as shown in the example.


Archives
Bridges of Wisconsin

Copyright © 2009
Hagenville University
Hagenville University


image/jpeg
image/gif


WB0078736
2008-12-15
C) Metadata record based on the MAP above, as the metadata appears to users in the local system:
Title/Name of Bridge
Date of Construction
Architect or Firm
Type of Bridge
Bridge Dimensions
County
Resource Type
Photographer
Date of Photograph
Original Photograph Size
Original Photograph Medium
Original Photograph ID Number
Original Photograph Collection
Original Photograph Repository
Digital Collection
Digital Image Copyright
Digital Image Publisher
Digital File Format
Manchester Street Bridge, Sauk County, Wisconsin
1896
Lassig Bridge and Iron Works
Truss bridges
128.9 ft. long; 13.7 ft. deck width
Sauk County
Still Image
Kramer, Paul Jacob
1955
35 mm
Black & white slide
171, 33b-765
Paul J. Kramer Archival Photograph Collection
Hagenville University Archives
Bridges of Wisconsin
Copyright © 2009 Hagenville University
Hagenville University
image/jpeg
Copyright © Steven J. Miller. All Rights Reserved
Page 3 of 21 Examples of Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Records
D) Metadata record after harvesting as
Simple Dublin Core:
Title
Date
Creator
Subject
Format
Coverage
Type
Creator
Date
Format
Format
Identifier
Relation
Contributor
Relation
Rights
Publisher
Format
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
F) Drop-Down Browse Menu Selection Examples:
Manchester Street Bridge, Sauk County, Wisconsin
1896
Lassig Bridge and Iron Works
Truss bridges
128.9 ft. long; 13.7 ft. deck width
Sauk County
Still Image
Kramer, Paul Jacob
1955
35 mm
Black & white slide
171, 33b-765
Paul J. Kramer Archival Photograph Collection
Hagenville University Archives
Bridges of Wisconsin
Copyright © 2009 Hagenville University
Hagenville University
image/jpeg
E) Fielded Searching and Search Limit Examples:
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Page 4 of 21 Examples of Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Records
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
F) Questions for further thought, understanding, or discussion:
Always keep in mind that decisions about functional requirements, local element/field names, specifications about required vocabularies
and encoding schemes, and the like, are local design decisions and that these decisions impact user functionality as well as the
interoperability of the metadata outside of its original context.
 What would be the results for user functionality and metadata interoperability if:
o Type of Bridge, County, or Resource Type were not present, were optional, or did not require a controlled vocabulary?
o Photographer names did not require a consistent form from an authority file?
o Dates were allowed to be entered in formats other than those specified in the application profile?
 How interoperable will the County names be for user browsing or search limits if the metadata is harvested and aggregated with
metadata from collections from many other states in the U.S.? How could this be addressed in the scheme design and Application
Profile for this collection?
 What is the value of including Resource Type in the metadata for this collection when all items are still images?
 How might the application profile for the fictional Bridges of Wisconsin collection be further modified to allow for additional information
and functionality that might be of interest to some end users?
 How might of Bridges of the World digital collection metadata scheme and application profile differ from this one for Bridges of
Wisconsin?
When creating your own original metadata scheme and application profile, keep in mind the following questions:
 Which elements/fields/properties and their values enable what kind of functionality for users? Which help the user identify what is
depicted in the image? Which can be meaningfully used for fielded searching? For search limits? For browse categories? As dropdown lists from which a user selects? Why? Explain your thinking. Draw a quick sketch using pencil and paper to illustrate how this
would appear to users. Also imagine what exactly the user would be searching for each of these. Does this help focus your thinking?
 What would you establish as the functional requirements for your collection, requirements used as the basis for designing this metadata
scheme? How might the scheme be modified (fields and/or specifications added, deleted, or changed) to add or enhance user
functionality?
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Page 5 of 21 Examples of Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Records
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
2. Metadata Application Scenario Example 2:
North American Architecture Digital Image Collection
A) Application Scenario for the North American Architecture Collection



Context: Hagen Digital Library (HDL), a unit within Hagen University, a privately-funded, medium-sized university in the Midwestern
United States. Two professors from Hagen University's Architecture Department have worked with HDL staff to create this
collection, tailored for use in an upper-level undergraduate and lower-level graduate courses on the work of famous architects in
North America.
Content: This collection will include a combination of digitized photographs and born-digital images taken with a digital camera.
The focus is on famous buildings in the United States and Canada designed by famous architects. This collection is planned as an
ongoing collection, with no definite end date.
Users: Primary users: professors and students in Hagen University's Architecture Department, for instructional purposes.
Secondary users: potentially very diverse, including scholars, researchers, architects, university and K-12 students and educators,
and the general public.
B) Functional requirements:





Browse by:
 Geographic location: (a) city or region; and (b) state or province
 Name of architect
 Type of building
Fielded Search by:
 Architect
 Name of building
 City/Region
 State/Province
Limit searches by:
 Date of building construction
Identify and obtain resources (in addition to the above) by:
 Rights information, including restrictions on use and reproduction;
 Name of collection
 Name of institution publishing the resources to the Web
 Additional description, if useful
For cross-collection and aggregated searching and identification, also include:
 Type of resource (i.e., still image);
 Digital format
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Page 6 of 21 Examples of Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Records
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
c) Application Profile (or Data Dictionary):
The following table documents the metadata scheme devised for this collection, including elements and their specifications. The decision
was made to use local elements mapped to qualified Dublin Core and to also expose these for output as simple OAI-DC XML.
Element
Name
Title
Dublin Core
Mapping
Title
Value
Scheme
Oblig
ation
M
Occurr
ence
R
Architect
Creator
Building Name
LCNAF
MA
NR
Use LCNAF. If name not present, use common form of
name found in reference sources, surname first for
Western names
Subject
LCNAF
MA
R
Building Type
Subject
AAT
MA
NR
Give name of building in controlled vocabulary form, even if
the same as that used for the title. Use LCNAF. If name
not present there, use common form of name found in
reference sources.
Use terms from the Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus
(AAT)
Date of
Construction
Date
W3CDTF
MA
NR
City/Region
Coverage Spatial
TGN
MA
R
Use date of completion of construction or dedication if
available, Otherwise known or approximate date range.
Use W3CDTF for single known dates. For date ranges,
separate dates with hyphens. For uncertain or approximate
dates, use question mark.
Use TGN vocabulary for all place names.
State/Province
Coverage Spatial
TGN
MA
NR
Use TGN vocabulary for all place names.
Description
Description
R
R
Type of
Resource
Rights
Type
M
NR
Rights
M
NR
Compose a brief description of the content of the image if it
contains aspects not represented in other metadata fields.
Otherwise leave Description blank.
Use DCMI Type Vocabulary terms. For this collection, all
will be "StillImage."
Use: Copyright 2009 Hagen Digital Library
Use and
Reproduction
Rights
M
NR
DCMIType
Copyright © Steven J. Miller. All Rights Reserved
Input Guidelines
Examples
Name of building, followed by location (city/region and
state/province. Add brief descriptive information to
distinguish one image of the same building from another if
needed.
Dana-Thomas House,
Springfield, Illinois
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los
Angeles, California
Le Clos Jordan Winery, Lincoln,
Ontario, Canada
Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959
Pei, I. M., 1917Calatrava, Santiago, 1951Gehry, Frank O., 1929Dana-Thomas House
Le Clos Jordan Winery
Indiana University Art Museum
apartment houses
art museums (buildings)
churches (buildings)
concert halls
dwellings
theaters (buildings)
2005
1995-04
1855-1887
1748?
Kansas City
Toronto
Missouri
Ontario
StillImage
Copyright 2009 Hagen Digital
Library
Use this text: " Images may be reproduced solely for
personal and educational purposes and must include the
Page 7 of 21 Examples of Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Records
Collection
Relation isPartOf
Publisher
Digital Format
Publisher
Format
IMT
M
NR
M
R
NR
NR
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
copyright statement. Any use for commercial purposes is
prohibited."
Use: North American Architecture Collection
Use: Hagen Digital Library
Use IMT terms; most images in this collection with be
jpeg's
North American Architecture
Collection
Hagen Digital Library
image/jpeg
C) DC Metadata Record 1:
Create a Qualified Dublin Core metadata record using the application profile above for the following digital image:
Information about this image:
 JPEG image
 Milwaukee Art Museum, Quadracci Pavilion, created by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, completed in 2001.
 For further research and information see:
o http://www.mam.org/info/details/quadracci.php
o http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Art_Museum
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Page 8 of 21 Examples of Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Records
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
D) DC Metadata Record 2:
Find your own example of a work of North American architecture by a famous architect. It may be one of the architects given
as examples in the application profile or any other who is well-known. Create a qualified Dublin Core record for the image,
following the application profile. You may include an actual image if you wish.
E) MODS Metadata Record:
An example of a fairly simple MODS record for the image in C above.
<mods>
<titleInfo>
<title>Quadracci Pavilion, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin</title>
</titleInfo>
<name type="personal>
<namePart>Calatrava, Santiago</namePart>
<namePart type="date>1951-</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm type="text">architect
<roleTerm type="code">arc
</role>
</name>
<subject authority="naf">
<name> <namePart>Milwaukee Art Museum</namePart> </name>
</subject>
<subject authority="aat>
<topic>art museums (buildings)</topic>
</subject>
<originInfo>
<dateCreated>2001</dateCreated>
</originInfo>
<subject>
<hierarchicalGeographic>
<state>Wisconsin</state>
<city>Milwaukee</city>
</hierarchicalGeographic>
</subject>
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Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
<abstract>View of the Quadracci Pavilion, pedestrian bridge, and the Burke Brise Soleil over Windhover
Hall</abstract>
<typeOfResource>still image</typeOfResource>
<accessCondition>Copyright 2009 Hagen Digital Library</accessCondition>
<accessCondition type="use and reproduction">Images may be reproduced solely for personal and educational
purposes and
must include the copyright statement. Any use for commercial purposes is prohibited.</accessCondition>
<relatedItem type="host>
<titleInfo><title>North American Architecture Collection</title></titleInfo>
</relatedItem>
<originInfo>
<publisher>Hagen Digital Library</publisher>
</originInfo>
<physicalDescription>
<internetMediaType>image/jpeg</internetMediaType>
</physicalDescription>
<recordInfo>
<recordContentSource>Hagen Digital Library</recordContentSource>
<recordCreationDate>2007-07-07</recordCreationDate>
<languageOfCataloging> <languageTerm authority="iso639-2b">eng</languageTerm> <languageOfCataloging>
</recordInfo>
</mods>
Note: Building type term art museums (buildings) established in AAT Record ID 300264847
Copyright © Steven J. Miller. All Rights Reserved
21 Page 10 of
Examples of Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Records
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
3. Metadata Application Scenario Example 3:
World War II Memories Collection
A) Background Information:
The following examples are based on a fictional application scenario of a Hagen Digital Library collection called World War II
Memories. It is envisioned to be a collection of texts, sound recordings, moving images, still images, and maps
documenting the war experiences of World War II veterans in HDL's state.
In this scenario, different institutions of different types and sizes from around the state have contributed, and will continue
to contribute, records to the shared metadata repository for this specific collection. A shared application profile / data dictionary
was created, with certain fields designated as mandatory, others as required if applicable, and so forth. Many fields were left
recommended or optional, because mandating them would have placed too great a burden on smaller contributing institutions.
Below is a partial application profile for this invented collection, followed by a small set of records that were created by different
institutions following this application profile. Imagine that this set of records is but an extremely small sample of a collection
consisting of many thousands of digital resources and metadata records for each. Even using this small sample of 20 records
we can get a feel for how users will retrieve resources and of some ways to detect metadata quality problems.
Pay special attention to the parts of the application profile in shaded cells, especially Obligation and Comments/Examples. Note
especially elements that are Mandatory or Required if Applicable versus those that are Recommended or Optional.
Copyright © Steven J. Miller. All Rights Reserved
21 Page 11 of
Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Record Examples
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
B) Partial Consortial Application Profile for World War II Memories Collection:
Field
Vocabulary
Obligation
Title
DC
Mapping
Title
Free text
Mandatory
Veteran
Subject
Constrained text
R
Branch of
Service
Military Unit
Subject
Local vocabulary
Required If
Applicable
Recommended
Subject
Local vocabulary
Recommended
NR
Coverage
Spatial
Subject
Local vocabulary
Recommended
R
Local vocabulary
based in part on
LCSH
TGN (modified)
Recommended
R
Recommended
R
Recommended
R
Recommended
NR
Theater
Event
Location
Occurrence
NR
Comments and Examples
Title given by the creator of the object. If none, supply a constructed title; prefer putting the name
of the veteran first, followed by their military rank, if known, and then followed by “interview,”
“diary,” “letter dated …,” etc. Examples:
Hank Reardon, Lieutenant, interview about the Battle of Normandy
Sarah Wilder, Ensign, photograph in the infirmary at Pearl Harbor Naval Base
Name of veteran, last name first; add the birth and death dates, when known. Examples: Fischer,
Carl, 1923-. Costa, Gavin, 1918-2006.
Branch of military service in which veteran served at time of object described. Examples: United
States Army. United States Navy.
Military unit in which veteran served at time of object described. Examples: 86th Battalion, 3rd
Infantry. 12th Army.
Use either: “European Theater” or “Pacific Theater.” Repeat field if applicable.
Name of battle or other event. Examples:
Bataan, Battle of, Philippines, 1942.
Midway, Battle of, 1942.
D-Day, 1944 (Normandy invasion).
Liberation of Auschwitz (Concentration camp), 1945
Name of city or region depicted in image or discussed in interview, letter, etc. Give city or region
followed by country, when applicable. Examples: Belgium. Bremerhaven, Germany.
For single, known dates use W3CDTF; example: 1944-12-25. For range of dates use hyphen;
example: 1944-1945. For uncertain dates use question mark; examples: 1944? 1944?-1945.
Terms, phrases, names for persons and subject content depicted or discussed, not already
covered by more specific field. Uncontrolled keywords are acceptable, but terms from a standard
controlled vocabulary are strongly recommended.
Description of object. Recommend full, rich descriptions whenever possible. Prefer no more than
one or two paragraphs. Example: British children huddled together in a makeshift bomb shelter
experience a range of emotions as they endure an attack by Hitler's air force.
Examples: Text. Sound. Still Image. Moving Image.
Subject
Coverage Spatial
Coverage Temporal
Subject
Description
Description
W3CDTF or local
guidelines
Recommended:
LCSH, LCTGM,
LCNAF
Free Text
General Type
of Resource
Specific Type
of Resource
Veteran's Role
Veteran's
Home Town
Ethnicity
Type
DCMI Type
Mandatory
NR
Format Medium
Subject
Coverage
Spatial
Subject
Local
Mandatory
NR
Local vocabulary
TGN (modified)
Optional
Optional
R
NR
Optional
R
Subject
Local vocabulary
based on LCSH
LCSH and local
More specific type from local vocabulary. Examples: Letters. Diaries. Interviews, Audio.
Interviews, Video. Photographs. Drawings. Maps.
Examples: Pilot. Medic.
Name of city of town, followed by state; terms taken from TGN. Examples: Springfield, Illinois.
Rockford, Illinois.
Examples: Hispanic American. Asian American. Caucasian American.
Creator
Constrained text
Recommended
NR
Rank at the time of the object described. If rank changed (e.g., during time of diary), repeat the
element. Examples: Private First Class; Corporal; Lieutenant
Name of interviewer, photographer, cartographer
Date Created
Language
Format
[local]
W3CDTF or local
guidelines
ISO-639
IMT
Recommended
NR
Date original photograph, interview, map, etc. was created or recorded
Optional
Recommended
Mandatory
R
NR
NR
“eng” for vast majority
Examples: image/jpeg; audio/mp3; video/mp4
The name of the institution contributing the metadata
Time Period
Veteran's
Rank
Interviewer,
Photographer,
Cartographer
Date Created /
Recorded
Language
Digital Format
Contributor
Recommended
Optional
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Page 12 of 21 Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Record Examples
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
C) Metadata Records Examples:
Fields in blue font in the following table are either mandatory or required if applicable. Contributing institutions names are in different colored
fonts. What can we detect about the completeness and quality of the metadata from the four contributing institutions in the table below?
Copyright © Steven J. Miller. All Rights Reserved
Page 13 of 21 Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Record Examples
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
D) Metadata for Searching, Browsing, and Navigation
Sorting on a column in an Excel table simulates exactly what happens when a user executes a fielded search, applies a search limit, clicks on a
browse category, or makes a navigation menu selection. The system uses the metadata field and retrieves everything with the field value which
matches what the user enters in Search or selects in Browse.
Remember that in a spreadsheet layout, each column represents a metadata element or field and each row represents a metadata record.
1. Records sorted by Title field.
This is the order in which they would appear to users.
Notice the way that the way that titles are constructed. Compare with the way that most online digital collections are presented to users:
alphabetical arrangement by title is most often the primary order of results from user searches. Cells have been shaded different colors to show
where there are meaningful groupings. The tan shaded cells show records that could be grouped together by title if the title were constructed in
a different format.
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Page 14 of 21 Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Record Examples
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
Compare with the following screen capture from an actual online digital collection, which illustrates the result of a user’s keyword search on the
term “buildings,” or their selection of the term “Buildings” from a browse category:
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Page 15 of 21 Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Record Examples
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
2. Records sorted by Veteran field
If a user selected Wilder, Sarah, 1920- from a browse menu, s/he would retrieve only those records that contain that exact character string as the
value in the Veteran field. If some other form of her name were entered into that field, the user would not retrieve that record. They would miss
information of relevance to their research. In the table below, notice that there are three records about “Charlie Matthews.” Two have had the
named entered in a consistent, controlled way, while one has the name entered in its natural language form. Notice also values such as
“Colonel Rodriguez” and “Sergeant Paul Nakimura” and how these forms of entry might interfere with consist retrieval of everything about these
veterans.
In this context you can also see the value of systems that allow for a display form versus a form used for indexing. It would be nice to be able to
display to users the form “Charlie Matthews, 1925-“ while using “Matthews, Charlie, 1925-“ for indexing. If a user did a search by veteran, they
would ideally retrieve an index of veterans names sorted in alphabetical order by veteran’s last name, through which they could browse. Such
an index would sort in exactly the order of the Veteran column above.
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Page 16 of 21 Metadata Functionality, Application Profiles, and Record Examples
Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
Gray shading has been used to show where values are missing. In these two records, this is appropriate because this map and image are not
associated with one particular veteran.
3. Records sorted by Theater of War
If a user wants to retrieve everything in the collection pertaining to either the European or Pacific Theater, the only way s/he can do that is if the
identical value has been entered consistently into the same metadata field in the underlying database. Among other uses, “Theater” would be a
field we would likely want to use as a search limit or refinement choice for users. That way users could limit their searches on a term, or their
selection of a browse term, to only one or the other theater of war, thus greatly reducing their result set.
There are several things to notice here.
 We need to decide on the exact term to be used in this field. We could use simply Europe or European and Pacific. But in cross-collection
searching and an aggregated environment, those terms would become largely meaningless. Including the word Theater makes them
potentially more meaningful once out of their original context.
 Two records have a value of “pacific” entered into the Theater field (one beginning with a lowercase and one with an uppercase letter).
These would not be retrieved by a search, browse, or search limit on “Pacific Theater.”
 We have a set of minimal level records in our shared, aggregated repository. In this scenario we did not make “Theater” a required or
mandatory field. Decker College Library, which contributed the minimal level records, did a good job following our application profile
guidelines, and they chose to include only those fields which were strictly required. This means that none of their items will be retrieved by
means of searching or browsing by Theater of War.
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Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
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Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
4. Records sorted by General Type of Resource
Here we see the value of the Dublin Core Type element and the importance of consistent use of one of the values from the DCMI Type
Vocabulary for user’s resource identification and retrieval needs. Type is valuable in a collection with multiple types of resources, and even more
so for cross-collection searching within an institutions, and in metadata harvested and aggregated by an external service provider. Notice:
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The problem when using the term Image in addition to Still Image and Moving Image and its implications for retrieval of relevant items for users.
Despite that fact that this element is required, two records do not have it. The consequence is that they would not be retrievable by this aspect.
One way in which something similar to this might appear to end-users:
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Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
Remember that the labels displayed to end users do not need to be the controlled vocabulary forms used in the underlying metadata.
5. Records sorted by Specific Type of Resource
In this scenario it was judged that users of our collection would want to be able to retrieve items not only by broad, general category of type of
resource, but also by more specific categories, and that these would be established in a local controlled vocabulary. These are mapped to
Dublin Core Format – Medium and would be in the <genre> element in MODS.
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Users can use this element to limit their retrieval results to diaries (including journals), letters, maps, photographs, interviews, and so on.
Interviews are further broken down into audio, text, and video.
Notice the two values in tan shaded cells. Both are terms that do not conform to the local controlled vocabulary and so would be missed in
information retrieval. One of them also includes a typo or misspelling.
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Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-to-Do-It Manual
6. Metadata Quality Control
Quality metadata is usable and shareable metadata. There are some expensive software packages out there that can analyze database data, including
metadata, and produce various kinds of textual and visual reports. But it is amazing what you can do with a tool as basic as Microsoft Excel. Most
metadata and database software allows for the export of the data in tab-delimited format. This is a format in which the values in each column in a
database table are separated by tab characters, and each row by a paragraph break. This format can be easily converted into an Excel spreadsheet.
Once in Excel, you can do all kinds of manipulations of the data, such as sorting by fields, shading of cells, coloring text, and more. By sorting and
resorting and using different shades and colors you can get an overview of the metadata in your database for a collection. Imagine this now not for 20
records, as below, but for 20,000 records.
In the table below we can spot fields with missing values (shaded gray), fields with nonconforming values (shaded tan), contributing institutions
(different colored fonts). We can see that Decker College Library has contributed minimal level records, but that their records have only one actual data
value problem and are otherwise good quality in terms of conforming to the established MAP. We can see that Parker College and Turner Library are
experiencing more serious quality control problems. This allows us to contact the metadata people at those institutions to talk about the issues and get
them on the right track. This can be used to track metadata quality for individuals as well, in an institution which has multiple people inputting metadata.
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